Bauhaus.MobilityLab represents Thuringia at the world's largest congress for smart mobility and the digitalisation of transportation
The flight of a cargo drone or the use of an electronic guide dog for the blind: at this year's ITS World Congress, the world's most important conference and fair for the mobility of the future, the latest research results will be presented, technical developments will be shown and the framework conditions of science that make the use of such technology possible in reality will be discussed. The Bauhaus.MobilityLab of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar will be there, representing the state of Thuringia this year. Together with the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL), the scientists from Bauhaus-Universität Weimar spoke on the ITS Germany stage about the necessity of living labs and traffic trials in transport research.
Inner-city road space is limited. This not infrequently leads to competitive situations between the parties involved, which also limit traffic safety. Due to high accident figures and numerous critical situations for cycling and pedestrian traffic, the city of Erfurt had decided to carry out a traffic experiment in Talstraße that reallocates the existing space over a limited period of time - and as a result strengthens cycling and pedestrian traffic without impeding motor vehicle traffic. This experiment, supervised by the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, is an example of traffic trials that are of great benefit to science and traffic planning. Thuringia's state politicians support these projects because they have added value for the city's citizens and also offer scientific findings.
"Trials like this are of great concern to us," says Michael Flore, Head of Division at the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL) in the discussion panel at the ITS World Congress. "When we deal with the transport turnaround in the sense of a drive and mobility turnaround, new ideas and trying things out are needed." Experimentation clauses that enable such time-limited trials are helpful here. In conversation with the Bauhaus.MobilityLab, Flore advocated examining the need for further experimentation clauses. He also spoke with representatives of the Chair of Transport System Planning and the Bauhaus.MobilityLab about living labs as places for experimentation.
"The Bauhaus.MobilityLab, as a living lab with its various partners from science, business and politics, offers an ideal platform for new kinds of cooperation beyond the boundaries of institutions. And thus also for experiments," explains Raimo Harder, research assistant at the Chair of Transport System Planning at Bauhaus University Weimar. The TMIL had already supported the project in the application phase. By setting up a digital laboratory platform on which AI technologies are combined with data, companies and municipalities cooperate and researchers meet users, sustainable innovations can be developed in the Bauhaus.MobilityLab. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) as part of the innovation competition "Artificial Intelligence as a Driver of Economically Relevant Ecosystems" in the double-digit million range until 2023.
The discussion event between TMIL and Bauhaus-Universität Weimar took place on the Germany stage of the ITS World Congress. This annual congress and trade fair will be held in Hamburg this year from 11 to 15 October. 13,000 scientists, entrepreneurs and politicians from all over the world are expected to attend.